16 Interesting Facts About Junipero Serra

1. Did you know that on November 24, 1713, Miguel Jose Serra was baptized on the day of his birth? He grew up to be a small man and he traveled thousands of miles through Mexico and the Californias in the service the Church to evangelize the Native Americans.

2. Did you know that when Miguel Jose Serra was fifteen, he was sent to Palma to continue his studies? There he worked hard at his studies and lived at the Cathedral. After one year he joined the Franciscans. He took the name of Junípero in order to encourage himself to emulate one of the original companions of St. Francis, Brother Junipero, who was known for his humility and simplicity.

3. Did you know that Fray Junipero Serra was a famous teacher (Dr. Serra, or Dr. Junípero was what his students called him at the University)? For several years following his ordination, Serra remained at Palma as both student and teacher. He received a doctorate in theology and served as professor of theology at the Franciscan university in Palma from 1744 to 1749, when he sailed to Cádiz, Spain, and eventually fulfilled his desire to become a missionary.

4. Did you know that when Fray Junipero Serra arrived in Vera Cruz, horses and mules could have taken the missionaries to Mexico City? But Fray Junípero said that he preferred to walk. After many days of walking, one of Father Serra's legs became swollen, blistered, and badly infected. Still, he kept walking.

5. Did you know that Native Americans, of course, had their own religion and way of life? Some, such as the Luiseno, had god named Wiyot who died for his people. So there was a similarity between their deities and the Christian narrative of salvation. With all his heart, Fray Junipero Serra wanted to teach the First People of the Land of California the Gospel of Love, and, as a Christian, to baptize and save them for a heavenly paradise.

6. Did you know that Fray Junípero had a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary? At the age of 36 he arrived in Vera Cruz and the day before he reached the Franciscan convent in in Mexico City he stopped at the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He had a deep and long-standing affection for the Virgin Mary and participating for the first time in this Mexican devotion to Our Lady was an intense experience for him. The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is venerated in most of the missions. Since then, Our Lady of Guadalupe has become, in fact, the Patroness of the whole American continent.

8. Did you know that the first Alta California mission was founded at San Diego in 1769? Serra went on to establish eight other missions before he died 1784 at the age of 70 after traveling roughly 20,000 miles. A total of 21 missions were established between 1769 and 1823.

9. Did you know that Junipero Serra was as concerned with the Native Americans' physical well-being, as with their spiritual life? He introduced domestic animals and new agricultural methods and trades to the neophytes at his missions, giving out food, clothing, and shelter in exchange for labor. Serra loved art and music and introduced Spanish versions of both to the natives. Native Americans eventually developed their own orchestras at Missions San Antonio and San Jose.

10. Did you know that in 1773, Serra traveled to Mexico City and presented a list of grievances, Representación, to Viceroy Bucareli delineating 32 points of contention? He insisted that soldier immorality, especially the violation of Native American women, was widespread. He urged the Viceroy to replace the military commander in California. The Viceroy agreed to this. The Viceroy's entire response to Serra became known as "the first significant body of laws to govern early California."

11. Did you know that Spanish Military Governor Fernando Rivera insisted that the Native Americans who killed Fray Luis Jayme and two other Spaniards at Mission San Diego in 1775 be severely punished before rebuilding the mission? Serra consistently begged for lenient treatment of the Indians who led the rebellion and killed Fray Jayme. And he wrote directly to the Viceroy with the personal request, "if the Indians were to kill me, whether they be gentiles or Christians, they should be forgiven." "Great was our joy when we obtained a general amnesty.... because of our love of God, we set them free, so that they might [having repented] lead better lives," said Serra.

12. Did you know that corporal punishment, though unfortunate and reprehensible, was commonplace in the 18th century? It was meted out by Spanish civil authorities and some missionaries in the missions for theft, concubinage, and absence without leave. Though whippings were done as penance and not to be done in anger, Serra decried excesses. This practice was abolished by 1813.

13. Did you know that in his final hours at Mission San Carlos Borromeo, Junipero Serra said that if God mercifully granted him entry into heaven when he died, when he got there he would ceaselessly pray for the conversion of all the Indians in California?" On the afternoon of August 28, 1784, after not sleeping for thirty hours, he fell asleep on two boards, holding to his chest the large cross with remembrances from Mallorca and our Blessed Mother when he journeyed to heaven.

14. Did you know that while Fray Serra's body lay in state at Mission San Carlos mourners adorned his body with an earthen blanket of flowers? The mourners included candle-holding soldiers from the presidio and crew of the San Carlos, Spanish craftsmen, artisans, laborers, and six hundred Native Americans. The singing of the Responsorio was almost drowned out by the "tears and sobs and wailing of those present," according to Fray Francisco Palou, Serra's friend and first biographer.

15. Did you know that when Father Serra died in 1784 he had established nine California missions wherein 5,800 Native Americans were baptized since his arrival in 1769? Those nine missions grew to 21. Today, approximately 60 percent of the state's nearly 39 million people live in areas surrounding the missions, and El Camino Real, the road that Father Serra traveled on a tour of the missions shortly before his death, established a major artery running much of the length of the state.

16. Did you know that every state of the Union is represented by the statues of two individuals from the state's history? Father Serra and Ronald Reagan represent Californians in the U.S. Capitol. Recently the California State Legislature voted to remove Father Serra's statue and replace it with a statue of astronaut Sally Ride. Governor Jerry Brown has a veto option to reverse this decision. If you'd like to register an opinion, write Governor Jerry Brown at the Governor's Office, c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173, Sacramento, CA 95814 of phone: (916) 445-2841 or Fax: (916) 558-3160